Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Girls Weekend Away in Jinja!











Jambo! Yes, I am switching between Swahili, Lugandan and Bantwa! There is such a variety of languages in this country you might as well try them all! I haven't gotten to write steadily in my blog again as I have been off experiencing all that Uganda has to offer...and I have loved every minute of it! Friday was a normal day at work but Beth, Anna and I left for Jinja. We hired a driver to take us there, it is the easiest way. It took almost four hours to reach Jinja even though it is not very far from Kampala. Our driver was a an older, very friendly Ugandan man. In typical Ugandan fashion he quizzed each of us about our families, boyfriends, time in Africa etc...However tried as he might he couldn't say my name, Ugandan's have alot of trouble with it! I didn't think that Uganda could get any more beautiful until I saw Jinja. It is even more tropical and vividly green than the rest of Uganda with the clear, sparkling mighty Nile river running through it. It was surreal to have the most historic river in front of you, the Biblical river that has witnessed the progress of man for thousands of years. That night we stayed at the Nile River Explorers camp and we prepared to White Water Raft the Nile the next day!! We arrived to a friendly group of people who directed us to our banda (a little cabin) and then moved to the communal porch/bar to mingle the rest of the night. We met a number of people from different countries and chatted with them about their rafting experiences. I think each of us were feeling excited but quite nervous for the next days adventure. The next morning we caught a bus that took us down to the Nile. There were six to a boat and so we had three British people join our raft. They were wonderful people Ian, Nigel and Fiona and they all worked for the same NGO helping children in Uganda...Ian was especially nice (he is the same age as you dad) and he always said he wanted to raft the Nile at his age...it was one of his dreams. We were shown all the techniques for helping yourself if the boat flipped (but I was doubtful of them) and soon we were off down the mighty Nile enjoying the breathtaking scenery. The first two rapids were Grade 2 and then a Grade 4 (there are 6 grades...) I barely thought we were going to make it through the Grade 4 but we did and we all felt a great sense of accomplishment. It seemed that the trick was just to paddle as hard as you can through the waves so I thought ok we can do this...however the butterflies in my stomach got bigger as we approached the big Grade 6 rapid. It was called "The Silverback" as our guide informed us because when the waves hit you it feels like being trampled by a silverback!! Now I was really scared but we went for it as a team, we got through the first big rapid, then the second but I knew we were toast when the third wave came and was bigger than 10 boats combined and in seconds we were over. I don't think I have ever been this scared in my life...all I knew is that I was way under the rapids and didn't know whether I was swimming up or down...finally I headed upwards loosing my breath rapidly and terrified...I panicked as every time I went to emerge I hit something and was shoved back under again!!...finally I felt myself come to the surface and breath come and I grabbed onto a kayak nearby where they took me back to the now righted boat. We were only halfway at that point but I was told that that was the worst one so I forced myself to be brave and keep paddling....we tackled every rapid after that and we all had a great sense of accomplishment. That night we reminisced at the bar about our experiences and met more interesting people with reggae blasting in the background ...That night I met a bunch of great Canadians from BC, whom I am keeping in contact with.... they even played a video of us riding the rapids all day...it is so great that I had to buy a copy and bring it home for everyone to see!! The next day we relaxed, bought some crafts from local artisans and went to the Source of the Nile...which basically looked like the rest of the Nile!! By the time we headed home we were beat...
We took on the Nile that weekend and in my opinion...won. We were only dumped once from the boat while the other teams Good job my ladies...go team!!! Watch for the next update....










4 comments:

  1. Just lost my message...this might be a duplicate. Wow...you gals are daredevils!!
    Glad you won too...bet you all were relieved
    when it was over though! All I could think
    about were the thousands of croccodiles in that river when I saw a Steve Irwin Documentary once over there. Of course, they
    probably don't want to fight the rapids &
    hopefully stay far away?? I see you stayed at
    the 'Hilton' that weekend too....so glad you
    gals aren't Divas!!! Have fun!!!

    Cuz Joannie
    xo

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  2. This is amazing being able to read your experience. I'm so proud of you, Shannon! You're accomplishing such amazing things. I can't help but get overwhelmingly excited for you!
    Love you tons,
    Katie xoxo

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  3. Oh, Shannon. We have always wanted to do water rafting...on the Ottawa R...

    What a thrill and we look forward to seeing those pictures some day.

    Stay safe, take care,
    Mrs. Scrumpy

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  4. Glad you made it out safe and sound...what an awesome if terrifying experience! Now you can scratch that one off the Bucket List! I've been telling everyone that my baby sister white-water rafted the Nile and we are all incredibly impressed with your sense of adventure. I'm so proud of you!

    Lots of love,
    Lisa

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